Home is where your health begins. Is your home making you sick? Believe it or not, the simple act of cleaning your gutters can help you stay healthy. When you’re investing in gutter cleaning, repairs, or gutter covers, consider it an investment in your family’s health.

Reduce Mold

The EPA, calculates that people spend 93 percent of their lives indoors. While some of this time is spent in malls or at work, much of this time occurs at home. When you’re logging hours in bed or in front of the television, your home could be making you sick. Mold is a problem in many houses. According to the CDC, some people are particularly sensitive to molds, and they can lead to breathing irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation. Those with mold allergies fare even worse.

Leaks in your house create conditions for mold to grow. If water seeps through your roof into your attic and then into your walls, you can have an invisible problem that makes you sick seemingly without reason. Clogged gutters can cause leaks. For example, a gutter that overflows can push water under roofing shingles. When that water freezes, it can damage the roof and cause leaks. Cleaning your clogged gutters helps to prevent roof leaks, which helps to prevent water and mold problems in your home.

Reduce Mosquito Populations

Mosquitoes are one of the world’s most dangerous insects. Mosquito-borne diseases kill over a million people in the world every year, according to the American Mosquito Control Association. While many mosquito-borne diseases occur in warmer climates, diseases like West Nile Virus and La Crosse Encephalitis are present in the United States.

Mosquitoes need water to breed, and they prefer to use standing water. One perfect source of standing water is your clogged gutter. By cleaning your gutters, you can reduce your mosquito populations and the chance that you’ll get bitten and potentially get a mosquito-borne disease.

Reduce Nesting Sites

While people love watching birds, watching mice is another pastime altogether. If you’d like to reduce your rodent-watching inside and outside your home, reduce their nesting sites.

Cleaning your gutters reduces nesting areas directly, because mice, birds, and other animals like to nest in the dry leaves that clog your gutter. It also reduces the chance that mice will move into your home through holes in rotted siding.

Reduce Outdoor Hazards

Injuries can be serious, especially for older adults who take longer to recover from falls. As the weather gets cool, wet, and snowy, make sure that the exterior of your home is safe. Avoid slippery porches, steps, decks, and walkways by making sure that your gutters are clean. Overflowing gutters can lead to puddles, mud, and slippery wood. Stop slipping on your stairs or sliding in mud puddles: make sure your gutters are clean.

Cleaning your gutters can be a hazard as well. Instead of getting up on a ladder to clean, considering investing in a gutter guard system. This system reduces gutter clogging so that you never need to clean your gutters again. Learn more about Gutter Helmet – contact Harry Helmet today.

Written by Del Thebaud